Senator Onyekachi Nwaebonyi of Ebonyi North defended his clash with former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili during a Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges, and Public Petitions hearing on Tuesday.
The confrontation occurred amid a petition filed by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Ezekwesili attended the hearing alongside legal counsel Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi and chief petitioner Zubairu Yakubu.
She insisted on being heard and demanded to be taken under oath, adding, “I am a citizen of Nigeria.” This resulted in a heated dispute with Nwaebonyi, who said, “You’re a fool.” What do you mean? Why are you speaking to me like that? I won’t take it. You’re an insult to women. “People like you cannot be here.”
Ezekwesili retaliated by labelling him a “hooligan,” which escalated the situation until order was restored.
In an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday evening, Nwaebonyi alleged that Ezekwesili initiated the confrontation by calling him a hooligan and urging him to “shut up.”
Nwaebonyi maintained that his response was justified, stating, “For a mother like you, a grandmother of your age, a former minister of the Federal Republic, to tell a sitting senator to shut up and call him a hooligan, that’s unacceptable.”
When questioned if he regretted the incident, he stood firm, “How can I regret the scenario? I gave it to her. Is it fair for her to address me that way? As a former minister and a grandmother, ask her first.”
